No country for moderates in a chaotic democracy
Published: 12 May. 2025, 00:01
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
Jaung Hoon
The author is an emeritus professor at Chung-Ang University and a columnist for the JoongAng Ilbo.
Film lovers may recall "No Country for Old Men," the 2007 Coen brothers’ adaptation of a novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. The movie is ostensibly a grim crime thriller revolving around a briefcase full of money, pursued by a lawman, a hit man and a drifter. But beneath the surface lies a darker message: a bleak portrayal of a world consumed by chance, violence and the erosion of moral order.
The embodiment of this chaos is Anton Chigurh, a remorseless killer who operates without clear logic or motivation. His presence underscores the senseless brutality of a world in which traditional norms have collapsed, and where those with accumulated life wisdom — figuratively, the “old men” — are left unable to understand or survive the disorder around them.
![Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party (PPP)’s presidential candidate, right, and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo meet at the PPP’s presidential campaign office in Yeouido western Seoul on May 11. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/12/f079061f-4a4c-41ae-a60a-a9ee0fb8b02b.jpg)
Three weeks ahead of Korea’s early presidential election, the political landscape appears strikingly similar to the world McCarthy envisioned: one marked by disorder, arbitrariness and a collapse of ethical grounding. For many moderate and thoughtful citizens, the current political climate has become suffocating.
The early election was triggered by the unconstitutional declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Ironically, the conservative People Power Party (PPP), despite the upheaval, nominated Kim Moon-soo, a known opponent of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, as its candidate. Within days of the nomination, PPP leaders pushed for a unified candidacy with an outsider, urging Kim to withdraw. What followed was a spectacle of reversals: a sudden cancellation of his candidacy, then a retraction of that cancellation. In the wake of institutional violence came a breakdown in political accountability.
The liberal Democratic Party (DP) is not faring any better. Just weeks ago, it hailed the Constitutional Court's approval of the president’s impeachment as a victory for justice. Now, the party appears to be threatening the judiciary over an unfavorable court decision. After the Supreme Court remanded its presidential candidate’s election law conviction, DP figures floated the possibility of impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and other justices involved in the ruling. Echoes of constitutional erosion in countries like Hungary and Poland are now being heard in Korea.
![Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung attends an event at KBIZ Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on May 8. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/12/cfc30ed4-f30b-4ec9-a86e-877ed16ad3b3.jpg)
In the Korea of 2025, there is little room left for moderates. The two dominant parties are entrenched in belligerent partisanship, intoxicated with power, and locked in zero-sum contests. Multiple factors have brought Korean democracy to this point, but two deserve special attention: the accelerating chaos triggered by the Dec. 3 martial law declaration and the retreat of U.S. democratic norms that once offered a guiding framework.
First, the martial law incident did not create the dysfunction, but it pushed it to a new threshold. Korea’s democratic institutions were already strained, but that night’s attempted suspension of civilian governance shattered what remained of political restraint. In the aftermath, the Democratic Party, once at the forefront of opposing the martial law move, began justifying increasingly aggressive actions under the banner of anti-authoritarianism. The logic was clear: if opposing martial law was righteous, then anything done in its name was justified — even the unprecedented impeachment of both the acting president and his temporary successor.
The culmination of this confusion arrived last week, when the DP equated threats to its candidate with threats to democracy itself. After the court ruled against the party’s candidate, the response was to attack the judiciary. The blurring of principle and strategy, of justice and partisanship, led to a spiral of institutional distrust and irrationality.
Although smaller in scale, the chaos within the PPP mirrors this dynamic. The party nominated Kim Moon-soo on May 3, yet began pressuring him the very next day to yield to Han Duck-soo, an independent contender. Kim’s refusal, followed by the party leadership’s abrupt annulment of his candidacy and its later reversal, reflected an utter breakdown in internal order. It was a portrait of dysfunction unfolding in real time.
![US President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. Trump on Monday hosted El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, the self-described ″world's coolest dictator″ who is now the US leader's key ally in a controversial push to deport illegal migrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/12/fad67edf-4b2f-4686-8516-f17c34682ca2.jpg)
Second, the disarray is exacerbated by global trends. For decades, American democracy served as a model of liberal governance for countries like Korea. The United States offered a template: rule of law, individual liberties and an open society. Korea’s democratic aspirations were often framed in alignment with that model.
But the rise of Donald Trump has reversed that influence. American democracy, once admired, has become uncertain and internally conflicted. President Trump’s admiration for authoritarian leaders in central Europe, Latin America and South Asia has muddied the global democratic standard. In doing so, he has amplified confusion over the very values that once provided international cohesion.
In short, political chaos at home and democratic backsliding abroad have eroded the middle ground in Korean politics. The space for moderates — those who seek balance, deliberation and institutional respect — has disappeared. With three weeks to go until the election, one wonders whether even a whisper of change can break through the noise.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
The author is an emeritus professor at Chung-Ang University and a columnist for the JoongAng Ilbo.
Film lovers may recall "No Country for Old Men," the 2007 Coen brothers’ adaptation of a novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. The movie is ostensibly a grim crime thriller revolving around a briefcase full of money, pursued by a lawman, a hit man and a drifter. But beneath the surface lies a darker message: a bleak portrayal of a world consumed by chance, violence and the erosion of moral order.
The embodiment of this chaos is Anton Chigurh, a remorseless killer who operates without clear logic or motivation. His presence underscores the senseless brutality of a world in which traditional norms have collapsed, and where those with accumulated life wisdom — figuratively, the “old men” — are left unable to understand or survive the disorder around them.
Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party (PPP)’s presidential candidate, right, and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo meet at the PPP’s presidential campaign office in Yeouido western Seoul on May 11. [NEWS1]
Three weeks ahead of Korea’s early presidential election, the political landscape appears strikingly similar to the world McCarthy envisioned: one marked by disorder, arbitrariness and a collapse of ethical grounding. For many moderate and thoughtful citizens, the current political climate has become suffocating.
The early election was triggered by the unconstitutional declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Ironically, the conservative People Power Party (PPP), despite the upheaval, nominated Kim Moon-soo, a known opponent of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, as its candidate. Within days of the nomination, PPP leaders pushed for a unified candidacy with an outsider, urging Kim to withdraw. What followed was a spectacle of reversals: a sudden cancellation of his candidacy, then a retraction of that cancellation. In the wake of institutional violence came a breakdown in political accountability.
The liberal Democratic Party (DP) is not faring any better. Just weeks ago, it hailed the Constitutional Court's approval of the president’s impeachment as a victory for justice. Now, the party appears to be threatening the judiciary over an unfavorable court decision. After the Supreme Court remanded its presidential candidate’s election law conviction, DP figures floated the possibility of impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and other justices involved in the ruling. Echoes of constitutional erosion in countries like Hungary and Poland are now being heard in Korea.
Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung attends an event at KBIZ Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on May 8. [NEWS1]
First, the martial law incident did not create the dysfunction, but it pushed it to a new threshold. Korea’s democratic institutions were already strained, but that night’s attempted suspension of civilian governance shattered what remained of political restraint. In the aftermath, the Democratic Party, once at the forefront of opposing the martial law move, began justifying increasingly aggressive actions under the banner of anti-authoritarianism. The logic was clear: if opposing martial law was righteous, then anything done in its name was justified — even the unprecedented impeachment of both the acting president and his temporary successor.
The culmination of this confusion arrived last week, when the DP equated threats to its candidate with threats to democracy itself. After the court ruled against the party’s candidate, the response was to attack the judiciary. The blurring of principle and strategy, of justice and partisanship, led to a spiral of institutional distrust and irrationality.
Although smaller in scale, the chaos within the PPP mirrors this dynamic. The party nominated Kim Moon-soo on May 3, yet began pressuring him the very next day to yield to Han Duck-soo, an independent contender. Kim’s refusal, followed by the party leadership’s abrupt annulment of his candidacy and its later reversal, reflected an utter breakdown in internal order. It was a portrait of dysfunction unfolding in real time.
US President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. Trump on Monday hosted El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, the self-described ″world's coolest dictator″ who is now the US leader's key ally in a controversial push to deport illegal migrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison. [AFP/YONHAP]
Second, the disarray is exacerbated by global trends. For decades, American democracy served as a model of liberal governance for countries like Korea. The United States offered a template: rule of law, individual liberties and an open society. Korea’s democratic aspirations were often framed in alignment with that model.
But the rise of Donald Trump has reversed that influence. American democracy, once admired, has become uncertain and internally conflicted. President Trump’s admiration for authoritarian leaders in central Europe, Latin America and South Asia has muddied the global democratic standard. In doing so, he has amplified confusion over the very values that once provided international cohesion.
In short, political chaos at home and democratic backsliding abroad have eroded the middle ground in Korean politics. The space for moderates — those who seek balance, deliberation and institutional respect — has disappeared. With three weeks to go until the election, one wonders whether even a whisper of change can break through the noise.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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